Information display system for Baccarat

ABSTRACT

An information display system for baccarat having a multiple columns to indicate for up to a predetermined number of previous hands, the winning hand of each previous hand, including if the hand was won by a natural hand, and if the hand resulted in a tie. The display may also show the number obtained by each side in a hand. Further, the display will indicate the last hand dealt from a shoe or includes a reset to start display of hands from a new shoe. In addition, there is provided input means to a computer for storage of information to display, and a printing device to print at least some of the information displayed on the display.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of gaming, and morespecifically to an information display system for Baccarat.

There are several variations on Baccarat play, depending upon the venue.A basic set of rules follows. There are two hands played in Baccarat—the“player” hand and the “banker” hand. You can bet on either one. If thehand you bet on wins, you receive an even money (1:1) payoff. There isone other bet you can make—the tie bet. If you make this bet and the twohands tie, you receive typically an 8:1 payoff. Ties, however, occurless than once out of every ten hands.

At the start, each hand receives 2 cards. When necessary, additionalcards are drawn according to the rules. The hand closest to 9 wins.

10s, Jacks, Queens, and Kings all count as 0. The ace through 9 cardshave face values of 1 to 9, respectively. To determine the value of eachhand, you simply add the cards. If the total is over 10, the first digitis ignored. So an 8 and a 6 would normally equal 14, but since wedisregard the first digit, we instead have a hand of 4. Similarly, a 6and 4 would equal 0, and a 10 and 9 would equal 9.

If the first two cards total 9, the hand is called a “natural” andautomatically wins. Two cards totaling 8 is also referred to as anatural, and it wins automatically too, unless the hand it is playingagainst has a natural as well. When both hands contain a natural, thehigher natural hand wins (9 beating an 8). If the hands have equalvalue, it is a tie.

When neither hand has a natural, there is no automatic winner, andadditional cards are drawn to determine the outcome of the hand.

The Player Hand

The player hand is played first, according to the following rules:

When the first two cards equal . . . . . . the player must 6, 7, 8, or 9Stand Any other value Draw one card

The player hand can never receive more than one additional card. Thehand must stand after the third card, regardless of its value at thatpoint.

The Banker Hand

The banker hand is a bit more complicated. How the banker hand getsplayed is usually determined by what the player hand's third card is. Ifthe player did not draw a third card (i.e. had a 6 or higher), then thebanker draws a card only if its first two cards total less than 5.Otherwise, the banker stands.

If the player did draw a third card, then the banker plays as follows:

When the banker's first two . . . the banker draws if the player's cardsequal . . . third card is: 3 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 4 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7 5 4, 5, 6, 7 6 6, 7 When the banker's first two cards equal . . . . .. the banker will: 2 or less Always draw 7, 8, or 9 Always stand

Wins, Losses, and Ties

The hand closest to nine always wins. If there is a natural, it is anautomatic winner, and no further cards are drawn.

Banker and player bets pay even money when you win. A winning bankerbet, however, is subject to a 5% house commission. So, if you made a $5banker bet and won, you would receive $5.00 minus 5% ($0.25), whichwould actually be $4.75. If the two hands tie, neither bet wins norloses any money. If you made a tie bet, however, you would receivetypically an 8:1 payoff.

Although banker bets must typically pay a 5% commission when won, theyare still good bets to make since banker hands actually win morefrequently than player hands. All things considered, the banker andplayer bets give you about the same odds. In both cases, the house edgeis quite small—in fact, it is only 1.17% on banker bets, and a 1.36% onplayer bets. From a statistical standpoint, you are slightly better offwagering on the banker, albeit not by much.

It is not necessary to memorize the rules to play; They areautomatically followed and implemented by the dealer. A player shouldnot be confused with the Player's hand or the Bank, neither of which isthe casino. A player may bet either side, i.e., bet either that thePlayer hand will win, or that the Banker hand will win.

When a new player approaches a table where Baccarat is being played, itis very often the case that the new player wants to know the outcome ofa number of the immediately preceding dealt hands, and wants suchinformation in a written format to refer to at later times. It iscustomary that play stops while the new player is informed from thedealer and/or the existing players about the historical outcome ofhands. Such suspension of play takes time and effort, disrupts existingplayers enthusiasm, and stops the flow of play, a condition notadvantageous for the casino.

There is currently a system shown at web sitehttp://www.gripsusa.com/html/bacarrat.html. However, such system islimited in the information that can easily and quickly be conveyed tonew players. The present invention addresses such limitations andprovides more information to the new player.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a casino baccaratdisplay system to convey the outcome of a predetermined number ofimmediately previously hands in a lesser amount of time and disturbanceto existing play.

It is a related advantage of the present invention to convey the outcomeof a predetermined number of hands to new players that lessens the timeinterruption of play for existing players.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, aninformation display system for baccarat comprises a multi-column displayto indicate for up to a predetermined number of previous games, thewining hand of each previous game, an input control to indicate thewinner of each hand and a printer to print at least part of theinformation displayed. Further features include an indication of a tiein any previous game for which information is displayed, an indicationof the last hand dealt from a shoe and indication if the win was by anatural for any previous game for which information is displayed. Inaddition, the display and print out may contain information about thenumber obtained by the Player and the Banker of each hand dealt

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of thepresent invention is disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and includeexemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects ofthe invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate anunderstanding of the invention.

FIG. 1 is detailed view of an information display system for baccarat inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a print out of an information displaysystem for baccarat in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an input panel in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments are provided herein.It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may beembodied in various forms. Various aspects of the invention may beinverted, or changed in reference to specific part shape and detail,part location, or part composition. Therefore, specific detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as abasis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching oneskilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

Turning to FIG. 1 there is shown an information display system forbaccarat 10 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. The display system 10 includes in the illustrated embodimenta main display area 15 having eight columns 17 of ten rows 19 each. Eachrow represents a hand of play. Each column 17 has two sub-columns 21,23, where sub-column 21 is filled to indicate that the hand was won bythe Banker hand and sub-column 23 is filled to indicate that the handwas won by the Player hand. It is understood that any number of rows andcolumns can be used, and that the illustrated embodiment is only onexample. However, in the illustrated embodiment, the anticipated numberof hands in a shoe is able to be displayed, rather than only a limitednumber of preceding hands.

In the illustrated embodiment, the symbol X is used in the sub-column,whether sub-column 21 or sub-column 23, to indicate a win, as describedabove. In addition, a circle around the X-symbol, the actual scorenumbers, or some other chosen indicator, indicates that the win was by a‘natural’, though it is appreciated that any number of indicators couldbe used, such as the letter N, or the X-symbol of a different color.Further, a tie is indicated by a dashed line in both the sub-column 21and sub-column 23 in the illustrated form, though alternate ways may beused, such as by using the X-symbol in a third sub-column labeled T fortie, leaving both sub-columns blank, butting the X-symbol in bothsub-columns, etc.

In the illustrated embodiment, the display is re-set after the last handdealt from one shoe, or stack of cards. Alternately, a designator symbolmay be used to indicate where one shoe ends, and a new shoe begins, suchas the X-symbol in both sub-columns, a blank in both sub-columns, orotherwise.

In the illustrated embodiment, additional areas are shown on theinformation display system 10. Area 31, for example can be used toindicate table betting limits, payout odds, and a longer history ofBanker and Player win percentages, such as the percentage win rates foreach in the last shoe, or the last 48 hours, or other defined periods.Further, area 33 may be used as advertisement space, and area 35indicates by whom, Banker or Player, the last or most recent hand won,or tied, and which hand had what score.

When a new player wants to have a print out of the display 10, pressingbutton 41 or otherwise will activate a printer that will print out much,if not all, the displayed information on card 45, as illustrated in FIG.2, where similarly placed information conveys similar information asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 1. To activate the printer,alternate form as may be used such as dealer activation, a cardinsertion, code, or otherwise.

It is to be understood that the information about each hand is inputinto a data information system that will store for display on display10, the information. FIG. 3 shows an input control panel 51 with areasto indicate the Player, Banker or Tie, as well as the number obtained byeach in any hand, and if a win was by a natural, as well as a re-setbutton to indicate the last hand had been dealt from a shoe. Statisticalmanipulations are direct and can be executed by computer. Such systemsare well known in the art. The remaining display statistics can becalculated by simple mathematical calculations. Connections betweeninput control panel 51, computer and display are not shown, though arewell know in the field.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is applicable toin-person baccarat games, as well as video, internet and other virtualbased baccarat games.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferredembodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention tothe particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended tocover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may beincluded within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theissued claims.

1. An information display system for baccarat comprising: a multi-columndisplay to indicate for up to a predetermined number of previous hands,the winning hand of each previous hand; an input control to indicate thewinner of each hand; a printer to print at least part of the informationdisplayed.
 2. An information display system for baccarat as claimed inclaim 1 further comprising: an indication of a tie in any previous gamefor which information is displayed.
 3. An information display system forbaccarat as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: an indication of thelast hand score dealt from a shoe.
 4. An information display system forbaccarat as claimed in claim 1 further wherein: the input control canindicate the number each of the Player hand and Banker hand obtained, ifthe hand was a tie, if the hand was won by a natural, and if the handwas the last dealt from a shoe.
 5. An information display system forbaccarat as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: an indication if thewin was by a natural for any previous game for which information is adisplayed.
 6. An information display system for baccarat as claimed inclaim 1 further comprising: a print out containing at least some of theinformation displayed.
 7. An information display system for baccarat asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the system is micro-processor based providingcapability for processing, storage, calculations, MICR capture, scancapture, networking, graphics, uploading, downloading, streaming video,server/internet connection and wireless connection/transfer.
 8. Aninformation display system for baccarat as claimed in claim 1 whereinthe system has the capability to swipe applicable Casino Customer Rewardcards, with a MICR, and transfer information to applicable Casinosystem.
 9. An information display system for baccarat as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the system has the capability to integrate an automaticcard reader, to allow automatic scoring without input from the dealer.10. An information display system for baccarat as claimed in claim 1wherein the display has a graphics area on the display for a period ofpredetermined time, for the percentage of winning and tie hands forBanker, Player, and Tie.
 11. An information display system for baccaratas claimed in claim 1 wherein the display has a graphics area on thedisplay for the host casino logo.
 12. An information display system forbaccarat as claimed in claim 1 wherein the display has an ad space areafor sponsored advertising.
 13. An information display system forbaccarat as claimed in claim 1 wherein the display can convert to fullor part display screen graphics, or full video of in-houseadvertising/promotions, or sponsored advertising, when the applicabletable is not in “play”.
 14. An information display system for baccaratas claimed in claim 1 wherein the display provide audio output for anyapplicable function.
 15. An information display system for baccarat asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the display can generate a “WinnerCelebration” screen, immediately after a hands' score is input, for fullor partial screen display, that will time out under the “program”.